A Rolling Chance
by Moonstone15
Summary: How many times can you get exactly what you want with dice? One time out of ten? Maybe more? Who knows? When Jack Wilder's life is suddenly turned upside down by the arrival of an unexpected girl, he must call up the old team including Dylan Rhodes. Because when this mysterious girls talent shows through, she's going to need more than just Jack to have a rolling chance...
1. Chapter 1

Now You See Me

Chapter One

The rain poured down over New York City. Most people would have raced into their homes as soon as it started, but the pale dirty-blond haired girl with the light blue eyes had no choice other than to stay out in the freezing weather and attempt to gain cover under a bus stop. She blew gently on her frozen fingers, hoping to regain a little feeling in her hands. But it was so cold that no sooner had she put a little bit of heat in them when the icy winds would blow once more, meaning that she was wasting her breath.  
After a while she gave up on this, instead deciding to just shove her hands under her arms and hope for the best.  
"Hey kid! What you think you're doing in my shelter?!"  
The girl recognised the voice of Klode, the feared mugger and made a break for it while she could. She knew better than to try and bargain or reason with him. The bruises from their last 'chat' still hadn't faded.  
"Yeah, you better run bitch!" Klode's bellow alerted her to the fact that he knew who she was. Not that it mattered. He'd beat her if he got the chance, reason or not.  
As the girl turned down a pleasantly lit street, the storm worsened, making her almost wish that she had taken a chance with Klode. Her stomach twisted painfully, reminding her that she hadn't eaten for ages. She tried not to think about it as she walked, concentrating instead on putting one foot in front of the other. Left, right, left, right…  
"Well, would ya look at that, boys! It's that bitch from Brooklyn!"  
Damn. Gerald's gang. She started running, knowing that this would only buy her time rather than let her escape.  
"Where do you think you're going?!"  
"Yeah, come back!"  
"We won't hurt you… much!"  
The calls from the gang echoed at her as she raced down the street. She could hear their footsteps coming closer and knew that it wouldn't be long before they caught her.  
Micky, the fastest boy in Gerald's gang reached her first. He grabbed her shoulder roughly, causing her to jerk to the side. She used the momentum of the pull to swing round and smash Micky in the side of the head. He cried out because of the pain and released her arm in shock. She wasted no time in setting off again at full sprint. She could hear the gang gaining on her so in desperation she dived over a hedge and sprinted to the door. When she reached it, she pounded on the wood as hard as her sore fists would allow her to, praying that the resident was home.  
She had been hammering for about three seconds when the door opened.  
"Please help me! I'm being chased and I-" she was cut off as someone grabbed her shoulder and threw her backwards onto the ground.  
She hit the ground hard and her head whipped back and slammed against the concrete. Her vision blurred before focusing on the face leering at her from above. Gerald.  
"Stupid bitch. Think you can bash my men and get away with it?" He straddled her chest, pinning her arms to the ground with his legs. She struggled, pretty sure of what was going to happen next.  
"I'll teach you a lesson that you won't be forgetting for a long, long time."  
He drew his arm back, forming his hand into a fist. She shut her eyes tight and prepared herself for the impact.  
It never came.  
Seconds before his fist connected with her face, he was wrenched off of her and thrown to the ground beside her. A foot rammed into Gerald's side making him groan with pain. The girl lifted her head up to see who her hero was. Her vision flickered with black spots, but she could just make out a dark silhouette of her hero, single handedly taking on the gang. Her head lanced with pain when she tried to move it, so she lay back and closed her eyes.  
The last thing she heard before slipping into unconsciousness was a voice saying something about never coming back. A voice that, oddly enough, was laced with the same accent as her own.


	2. Chapter 2

**Realised I forgot this last time. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Now You See Me or any of the characters in it. I only own my OCs. If you steal them, I'll turn into a werewolf and eat you. **

**Also thanks to the peeps that commented. Made my whole day better just to think of them :)**

Chapter Two

The girl awoke to find herself lying on a couch. Her head hurt and she felt sick. She screwed up her eyes against the soft yellow light. Reaching a hand out to grab the back of the couch, she pulled herself up to a sitting position and instantly regretted it. The room around her spun and flickered, making her feel dizzy and even more sick. She sat as still as possible and took a few deep breaths to calm herself before trying to figure out where she was.  
Looking around, she realised that she was in the living room of quite a nice house. Everything had a nice, comfortable, homey look to it. The girl stood slowly, trying to not bring back the dizziness.  
Suddenly, a door to her left opened, startling her and causing her to jump at the unexpected movement.  
"Whoa, hey, it's ok. I'm not gonna hurt you. Just relax." The guy who had just entered the room held his hands up as a gesture of passiveness.  
Looking at him, she guessed that he was probably somewhere around 19-20 years old. His short black hair, deep brown eyes and sharp, angular facial features made him pleasing to look at. But she had learned long before that good looking didn't necessarily mean good personality. Keeping her guard up, she took a few hesitant steps backwards.  
Realising that she was feeling threatened, the guy stopped moving forwards and instead just held out one hand towards her.  
"You alright?" The accent that laced his voice was a little heavier than her own, but it still brought comfort to her. She nodded, then winced at the pain in her head. He noticed her discomfort.  
"How about you hold up two fingers for yes and one for no?"  
Holding her aching head in her right hand, she used her left to hold up two fingers.  
"Ok, so does your head hurt?"  
Two fingers.  
"Did you hit it on the ground?"  
Again two fingers.  
"Do you know the guys who were chasing you?"  
She held up two, but then thought better of it and changed to three.  
"Is that a sort of?"  
Two fingers.  
He nodded and tilted his head to the side.  
"How about you sit down?"  
She sat, still holding her head with one hand. Slowly, he sat beside her, making sure to not sit too close.  
"Do you want me to get you something for your head?"  
She held up one finger and removed her hand from her head.  
"I'm Jack, by the way. Can you tell me your name?"  
"Maria." Her voice came out cracked and dry.  
"Here," Jack picked up a glass of water from the coffee table. "Drink this. Don't worry, I haven't poisoned it or anything."  
"Thanks." She muttered as she took the glass from him. After she drained the entire glass, she lifted her head and got a proper look at this mysterious 'Jack'. He looked familiar, but she couldn't quite figure out why. Then it hit her. He (and his friends) had been all over the news and in the papers. They had even done their 'grand finale' right hear in New York, although he hadn't been in it.  
"Y-your Jack Wilder."  
He grinned.  
"That's me."  
Her jaw dropped.  
"But… you're dead… on the bridge… the car…" she made a flipping motion with her hands.  
Jack chuckled and shook his head.  
"Do I look dead to you?"  
She reached out with a slightly trembling hand and gripped his arm, as though checking that he was really there.  
Not expecting much from the smallish thin girl, Jack only just managed to keep back a gasp from the feel of her vice-like grip. He realised that, despite her size and appearance, this girl could probably be a match for him in a fight. Not that he wanted to fight her. Even though she was rather thin and paler than would seem healthy, she was quite pretty. Her dirty-blond hair was still slightly damp and it hung around her soft-featured, pleasant, oval-shaped face like a curtain. Her light-blue eyes watched him carefully, like a bird watching a cat. He smiled softly at her and she returned the favour. Then, after releasing his arm, she stood and nodded gently to him.  
"Thank you for your help, Jack. But I think I should be getting home now."  
Jack chuckled softly.  
"Home to where, might I ask? Judging by the fact that you were walking around this part of town at this time of night and you look like you haven't eaten in days, I'd say that you're most likely a street-sleeper. Or in other words, you're homeless."  
Maria frowned.  
"And what would you know about being homeless, pretty boy?"  
"Because I was homeless once too."  
The new information shocked her. Jack Wilder, the amazing magician, the master of the card, had been a street-sleeper?  
"Y-you?" She couldn't believe it. He nodded.  
Suddenly, a sharp pain sliced through her head, causing her to stagger and fall. She would have hit the floor had Jack's reactions not been so quick. Jumping up, he caught her round the waist with both hands, preventing her from crashing to the floor. She barely noticed as he lifted her bridal-style and carried her out of the room. Her head was swimming and her vision blurred. He was muttering to her and she clung to the sound even though she couldn't understand what he was saying. Although the injury probably had something to do with the sudden dizzy spell, she knew it was that time of the week. The time that the dream would come. Ever since she had run away from home, the terror of what she had left behind visited her weekly in nightmares.  
Jack set her down on his bed. He went to get up and leave but she grabbed his hand and pulled him back.  
"Please, please don't leave…" her voice was full of fear and sadness. Jack looked at her in surprise. She looked helpless and scared. It surprised him. She really came across a strong sort of person. Wary maybe, but strong. Seeing her like this, like she actually needed him, it almost broke his heart. He knew the look in her eyes though. He had seen it enough in his own in the mirror, back when he used to wake up, sweating and crying. It was a look that screamed 'my past is haunting me!'.  
So rather than leaving, he lied down next to her. Her eyes closed and in a few minuets she was fast asleep. As soon as he was certain that she wasn't going to wake up, he rolled over and got out of the bed. His hand was on the door handle when he heard the first whimper. Turning back, he saw Maria beginning to twitch. Then she started to shake and shudder. And then, quite suddenly she stopped moving all together. Jack took a hesitant step towards her. Nothing. He was about to just turn around and leave when she suddenly jerked and cried out as though in pain. Then it happened again, and again. By this time tears were streaming down her face. It reminded Jack of his own painful experiences from when he was younger. Quickly and urgently, almost as though he couldn't stop himself, he lay back down next to her and pulled her into his arms. For a moment she resisted, but then relaxed in his arms. Jack heard her mutter something. He had heard somewhere that you could ask people stuff while they're asleep. He decided to try it.  
"What was that?"  
"Promise me…" she sighed.  
Jack waited to see if that was it. When she didn't say anything else, he whispered,  
"I promise."  
She smiled and snuggled into him and then was quite for the rest if the night, leaving Jack wondering what he had just promised.


End file.
